GOP Plans To Introduce Balanced Budget Amendment

What’s the story?

Reports are surfacing that the GOP is considering introducing legislation to add a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution in advance of the 2018 midterms. Despite the fact that Republicans passed tax reform that the Joint Committee on Taxation analyzes will add $1 trillion to the deficit over the next ten years.

Such an amendment is guaranteed not to pass, whether or not it holds merit on its face, because of the votes necessary to pass and then ratify a change to the Constitution. First, it would have to garner a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers. Then, it would have to be ratified by 38 of the 50 states (three-fourths).

Why propose such a thing if there’s no way it will pass?

Politics. Speaker Paul Ryan is reported by the Washington Post to have promised a vote to Tea Party conservatives who were concerned about ballooning debt in exchange for their support of the tax reform bill. Democrats will inevitably vote against the amendment, perhaps allowing Republicans to regain the mantle of "most concerned about the federal debt" despite tax reform.

Balanced budget amendment legislation has been proposed in the past. A Senate measure proposed capping spending at 18% of the economy’s total output unless two-thirds of each chamber of Congress votes to allow deficit spending.

A House measure would restrict spending to an amount not exceeding 20 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and require the president to submit a balanced budget to Congress.

Neither has been passed out of committee or received a floor vote.

Proponents of a balanced budget amendment say it is absolutely necessary to control for runaway government spending. Critics argue tying the hands of government in the event of a crisis or economic downturn will only compound problems.

What do you think?

Do we need a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution? How would you structure it to provide flexibility, if at all, in the event of a major recession or other social crisis with large economic implications, like war or increasing, massive natural disasters?

Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Pixabay / Creative Commons)